The Internet is a global network of computers and networks joined together by gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of a sending network to a protocol used by a receiving network. On the Internet, computers may communicate with other computers. Information between computers travels over the Internet through a variety of languages also referred to as protocols. A set of protocols used on the Internet is called the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
It is commonplace for users to send e-mail messages and instant messages to other users through the Internet or other networks. Electronic mail (e-mail) is a widely used format to communicate over the Internet. Other types of electronic messages include, for example, text messages, as used in many cell phones, and instant messages (IMs) that can be exchanged using, for example, IBM®'s Lotus Sametime® instant messaging program or AOL®'s AIM® instant messaging program. The use of electronic messaging is commonplace for personal and business use. Individuals use electronic messaging to keep in touch with and communicate with other users. Additionally, electronic documents can be attached to electronic messaging and sent with the electronic messages.
Electronic messages may be exchanged between clients via servers. In some instances, such as in text messages, the server does little more than redirect an electronic message to a receiving client. In other instances, such as in e-mail messages, the server plays a greater role that may include both enhanced functionality and storage for e-mail messages and any attached files.
In one method for transferring e-mail messages, an electronic mail program may reside in part on a user's computer. The user drafts the e-mail message on the user's computer (including entry of at least one addressee in an address field and entry of a body of the e-mail) and the electronic mail program replicates the message (i.e., copies, uploads) to an e-mail server computer, which may sometimes be provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The message is subsequently replicated (i.e., copied, downloaded) to a recipient's computer, from the e-mail server computer. An electronic mail program that commonly uses replication is Microsoft® Outlook® e-mail program.
Another common technique for sending and receiving e-mail messages is for an electronic mail program to operate primarily at the server computer. For example, in a web-based electronic mail program (webmail), such as Google®'s Gmail® program, a client may access the server computer and draft an e-mail message in a user-interface operating on the client computer. Upon “sending” the e-mail message, the server computer stores the e-mail message in association with the recipient. In web-based electronic mail programs, a copy is not typically stored on the client computer. The recipient may access the server computer from a client computer and view the e-mail message in a user interface on the client computer. The e-mail message need not be stored on the recipient client computer.
Some electronic mail programs, such as IBM®'s Lotus Notes® e-mail programs, are capable of both techniques at a user's discretion.
A known messaging program (e.g., an electronic mail program) includes or has access to a directory of user IDs, which may be on a local client computer or on a server computer. In a business environment, the directory typically includes the user IDs of all employees in the same company. A user may search the directory for a name and receive a list of matching user IDs. A known messaging program also makes a record of all user IDs to which each user has addressed an e-mail in the past, and the frequency at which the user has addressed the e-mails. The known messaging program utilizes predictive text features where, as a user enters a name or user ID into an address field, the messaging program displays a list of recipient user IDs from the directory that match the user ID to the extent it has been entered by the user, so that the user may select a recipient ID without typing the complete name or user ID.
As directories become more populated and similar names begin to accumulate, the chances of selecting, from the computer generated list, an incorrect recipient user ID increase. This is especially true for large organizations providing a messaging program for employees and including an employee directory of recipient IDs. Multiple employee names may be the same or similar, with similar recipient IDs. For example, there may be two people with the same first and last name which serves as the beginning part of a user ID, but with different geographic locations serving as the latter part of the user ID. The sender of the e-mail knows the correct first and last name, but does not know the correct geographic location for the latter part of the user ID. There are known techniques that attempt to prevent a user, or at least reduce the chances, from sending an electronic message to an incorrect recipient.
One technique includes meeting a relatedness threshold, where the message is compared to prior messages to the same recipient ID (via keywords and topics) to determine if the messages are related. Similar keywords and topics suggest that the recipient ID is indeed the intended ID. A second technique measures usage history by the user, as sending a message by the user to a commonly used recipient ID addressed by the user has a higher probability of being correct than a rarely used recipient ID addressed by the user.
US Patent Application 2009/0210504, by Gary Shuster, entitled “Erroneous Addressing Prevention for Electronic Messaging” and filed Feb. 17, 2009 (the Shuster application), herein incorporated by reference as part of the present disclosure, describes the use of similar techniques. For example, the Shuster application discusses a method whereby a program may assess risk of error in addressing using a weighted multi-factor analysis implemented by a programmed analysis algorithm. In the multi-factor analysis, a numerical score may be assigned based on multiple parameters. These parameters may include the length of time since each previous addressee has been e-mailed, the quantity of times addressees have been sent e-mails together, if any, the presence of designated keywords in the message and similarity. E-mail parameters may be determined from past message data that is stored, maintained and updated on a local or remote database. Each time a message is transmitted, the program may update an activity score for each recipient addressee of the outgoing message. The activity score may provide a measure of the number of times each addressee has been a message recipient, weighted by a measure of how recent the message activity is. If the score suggests that the probability of an addressing error meets a predefined risk threshold, the program may require user confirmation. It was known for the predictive text feature to suggest to the user only those recipient IDs to which the user had previously sent e-mails or from which the user had previously received e-mails.
These are positive indicators where scores or ranks are increased in response to certain events. A recipient ID is questioned if it does not meet some threshold of positive indicators. An object of the present invention is to improve ranking of matching recipient IDs to which e-mails have been addressed by the user in the past.